Israel’s Response to the Goldstone Report

The reported that Israel’s defense minister convened his security cabinet today to discuss the response to the Goldstone report, which documented suspected war crimes committed last December in Gaza.

The Goldstone report, adopted by the UNHRC last week, described possible war crimes committed by both sides fighting in Gaza. It accused Hamas of terrorizing civilian populations by rocket fire, and accused Israel of terrorizing civilian populations, using disproportionate force, and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, among other charges. The report recommends both sides investigate the allegations, or, the UNHCR said, the matter should be referred to the International Criminal Court. One of the options discussed in the meetings was creating an independent inquiry to investigate the allegations, thus avoiding scrutiny by the ICC.